Giving context to Once upon a time in the West

 My Once Upon A Time In The West painting has been decorating my wall for a while.

I didn’t hate the painting, but I had the feeling it was missing something. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Maybe it was too realistic and didn’t give the viewer much room to dream. Beautiful scenery is everywhere, right? It’s like having a great meal without dessert. It doesn’t need to be fancy or extravagant like a flambé or table side white-gloves soufflé service. A few pieces of chocolate would do just fine for me. 

I knew it was so cliché, but placing a couple of Natives on horsebacks might add some context to my painting.

Off I went to a proof of concept rendition of my protagonists,

Satisfied with the sample, I forged ahead with the real attempt.

I picked a location for my horse insertion.  Since the painting had been mounted, the treated paper was making a little fuss in taking on new ink.  The ink tended to bead up and was uncooperative in following the brushstroke.

Added the second horseman,

I could see that my painting was trying to tell a story now,

The black and white painting somewhat camouflaged the figures, especially because I placed the riders in the darker areas of the painting.  

Perhaps they are my Easter eggs?

I decided to add another person to the painting.  I picked a lighter spot this time and the ink seemed to flow a little better. 

The new face of the painting,   I loved the contrast between the more obscure riders and the obvious one, who seemed to have climbed up the hill for the encounter. 

I couldn't help but recall some interesting tidbit about a famous contemporary Chinese artist by the name of  Wu Guanzhong.  He did a drawing of the Suzhou museum (I think),

  

and subsequently altered it a bit by simplifying the composition and added a couple of swallows.

One art critic called this the Mondrian of Mr. Wu's.

The metamorphosis of his painting was dramatic. It transitioned from a plein-air work to something that was quite poetic. Swallows in Chinese culture symbolize loyalty and nurturing. These birds diligently care for their young and return to the same nest year after year. In his painting, the swallows are diminutive and almost imperceptible to casual observers. However, their insignificance magnifies their profound presence in the artwork for those who comprehend the underlying sentiment.

According to one account, people sought to acquire this painting for an astronomical sum of money but it was not for sale.  Some art critic called this work ”Wu’s Mondrian”.  I personally think this is quite unnecessary. I’m not sure if it elevates or demeans his work. He subsequently donated this work to the Hong Kong Museum of Art.  Mr. Wu claimed that this was his most favorite painting.

And, I finally got my after dinner chocolates !

Second engagement at the Garden

There is a a corner window on the second floor of the Tea House at the garden that offers an interesting view of the layout of the classical Chinese garden in town.

This view presents an unassuming and somewhat uninviting perspective. It is akin to an onion, with layers that reveal themselves gradually, exposing the center of the onion. As one peels back the layers, they become acutely aware of the pungent aroma of the bulb and the emotional response it evokes, potentially leading to tears. This view demands careful observation, analysis, and emotional engagement.

The classical tiles and roof ridges are discernible in the two photographs above. The remainder of the building is concealed by foliage. If one overlooks the contemporary structures in the background, the enigmatic structure in the photograph is encroached upon by trees. I can barely discern a breezeway behind the bowed branches of the willow.

One can also see the structure is surrounded by a water feature, with access gained by the manicured and tiled walkway.

The main visitor's plaza or pavilion is kitty-corner from the water feature. 

If I were doing a plein-air session, I’d paint everything I see. The Garden’s small footprint makes it tempting to include everything in our field of view, which could result in a busy, illustration-like painting. This is especially problematic if I paint from a photo. Even a simple drawing from a classical garden design textbook, like the one below, seems busy and unbecoming. The western perspective lines don’t help. It’s subjective, but it’s not “artsy”.  

My job is to condense and eliminate the clutter and make my proposed painting "artsy" with a Chinese flair.  Condensing also serves another purpose, time constraint.  I need to plan a lesson that can be finished in 90 minutes, even for a novice, and with the interruption of my jibber jabber. 

Since I am going to be exposing the class to Chinese brush painting, I would be using the venerable Mustard Seed Garden.  There is no better introduction to classical Chinese methods than that.

I intend to draw the trees in accordance with examples from the Mustard Seed Garden.

and I will be hiding my enigmatic structure with the trees,

Trunks of the trees are written down, paying attention to not put all of them on a level line,

Assigning different varieties of leaves to the trees, to present a mixed woods look.  Also penciling in the enigmatic roof lines.

Using broad side-tip brushstrokes I have the visitor's pavilion written in along with the proverbial background foliage.  Those are placed as background items. The location of the gazebo-like pavilion has been moved to a more distant background, to make the grounds appear much bigger than it really is. 

Thus the whole painting is written with simple brushstrokes.  I have the suggestion of a pathway and water.  The painting is really about an expression or sentiment if you will.  It is not about painting everything we see.  It is permissible to move things around to compose our painting.

I am making the lower left corner much darker in value than the upper right corner.  Thus there is a contrast of dark versus light, near versus far, dense versus sparse.  Those are the elements one looks for in a Chinese painting.  Harmony and contrast; who's the host, who's the guest, showing a tangible relationship amongst the subjects in the painting.  

To add a story line to the painting, I am going to introduce a person.  Again I am going to rely on my trusted buddy Mustard Seed Garden to provide me with an example,

a simple contour outline of  a person with folded hands in the back; a pretty familiar portrayal of scholar in the days bygone. 

The painting is now complete. The viewer can now actively participate in the formulation of the painting's story.  I must say, I have totally revamped the garden.  The painting looks nothing like the photos.

Just to make sure such an exercise is possible, I am timing myself in earnest now and see what I can produce in approximately an hour's timespan.  This would allow me time to explain and demonstrate to the workshop.  I'll have to do that on an easel, which is not the usual flat on the table position.

Two finches in a pear tree

Christmas has come and gone but the proverbial Twelve Days of Christmas song somehow keeps playing in my head.

          On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me a partridge in a pear tree

          On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me two turtle doves, and a partridge in a                  pear tree

I am reminded by the lyrics of my painting of pear tree flowers.  I have always loved that simple painting and to me it demonstrates the merits of Chinese round brush painting, although one would not associate it with the "traditional" Chinese brush painting.  Everything in that painting was done with discrete calligraphic brushstrokes, as if I was writing multitudes of "dots".  On top of that, it was sort of a plein-air painting.  I sat in the backyard, writing all dots as blossoms from my pear tree.  With that said, I've always felt that something was missing.  It lacked a story.  It lacked a plot.

How about borrowing from the Christmas carol and place a couple of finches in my pear tree.  I don't have partridges in my backyard but I do see finches.

I don't want to make my finches too ostentatious.  The finches I see usually betray their presence by their chirping or by their flickering, seldom by their colors.  The black-head finch, or the yellow-body variety would blend in too much with my painting of pear tree flowers.  I mean, I do want my finches to be sort of obscure, but not to the extent of puzzles like  "Where's Waldo" ( aka Where's Wally ).  I think the red-head finch best fit my purpose.  They use the color of their red head as calling cards, but their bodies blend in pretty well with their surroundings. 

This looks like a good spot to hang out,

 

Then there's this part of the painting that I don't quite like.  I must have been too faithful to what I was observing.  I painted two branches forming a 90 degree angle with each other.

Perfect place to place my other finch, to hide the oops.

My finch is going to be perched with its head turned back, interacting with its playmate below.  I like the pose for the simple reason that it creates movement, and forms connections.

I don't quite like the way the feet look.  The claws are not clasping like a typical bird would.  The claws need to be longer for starters.  I suppose I can try to hide them with flower petals.  I do like the fact that the greyish plumage blends in nicely with the existing painting.  

The finches do transform my painting.